C—3.

H is found practicable to construct it efficiently, will be fully reported on by the officer appointed to report on water-conservation generally. The staff required to maintain and look after this and the Blackstone Hill Eace consists of the manager and six men. The following statement will show the revenue derived from the sales of water, the maintenance, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained by the miners using water from this supply for the year ending the 31st March last : —

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the value of the sales of water last year amounted to £1,333 lis. 6d., as against £1,189 Is. for the previous year, which is an increase of £114 10s. 6d., while the expenditure on maintenance was £1,316 15s. 6d., as against £1,363 Is. for the previous year. The gain on the working last year was £16 16s. The approximate quantity of gold obtained from claims worked with water from this supply was 3,157 oz., representing a value of £12,154 9s. ; and the number of men employed in these claims averages about 66-5. Deducting the value of the gold obtained from the value of the sales of water, it leaves £10,820 17s. 6d. as the earnings of the miners, which is equal to about £162 14s. 4d. a man per annum, or about £3 2s. 7d. a man per week. Blackstone Hill Eace. This race continues to be economically managed, only a small amount being required for maintenance. The branch race from the right-hand branch of Hill's Creek was cleaned out in May, 1896. The dry season had the effect of lessening the ordinary supply of water during the past four months, and the race will have to be trimmed and cleared out next spring. The following statement will show the revenue derived from sales of water, the cost of maintenance, the number of men employed in working claims by the aid of this race, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained from claims for the year ending the 31st March last : —

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the sales of water for the last year amounted to £115 19s. 3d., as against £136 lis. 7d for the previous year, while the cost of maintenance was £5 Bs. 6d., thus leaving a net profit of £110 10s. 9d. on the working of this water-race. The average number of miners employed in claims worked by the aid of this water-race was 8-75, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained by them was 183 oz., representing a value of £704 lis. Deducting the value of the sales of water from the value of the gold obtained, it leaves £588 lis. 9d. as the earnings of the miners, which is equal to about £67 ss. 4d. per man per annum. The total cost of this water-race was £1,036 16s. The net profit on the workings last year gave about 10-6 per cent, interest on the capital invested. s—o. 3.

27

Date. Sales of Water. Cash received. Maintenance. Number of Men employed. 4 3 Value. 1896. £ s. d. 133 19 4 141 2 0 100 14 10 90 17 8 17 16 10 108 12 5 175 8 10 132 19 2 126 12 4 £ s. d. 136 7 10 141 2 0 104 1 1 90 17 8 22 9 10 111 17 11 176 7 8 132 19 2 136 12 4 £ s. d. 85 11 8 85 5 8 84 10 8 87 7 8 279 5 2 135 10 8 104 6 2 107 14 8 94 12 8 Oz. 244 390 309 168 97 170 362 410 212 £ a. d. April May .. June July August .. September October November December 1897. 73 73 68 58 38 74 79 68 64 January February March .. 80 17 11 91 1 7 133 13 7 81 3 2 91 1 7 140 10 8 85 17 2 79 13 8 86 19 8 66 63 74 290 242 263 Totals 12,154 9 0 1,333 11 6 1,365 10 11 1,316 15 6 66.5 3,157

Month. Sales of Water. Cash received. Maintenance. Nnmhpr Approximate of Men Qu-tityof employed. Value. April May .. June .. July .. August September October November December 1896. 1897. £ s. d. 11 15 10 11 10 1 11 15 10 6 13 4 6 13 4 8 15 10 9 15 10 9 15 10 9 15 10 £ s. d. 9 15 10 11 0 1 9 15 10 6 13 4 1 10 0 13 19 2 9 15 10 9 15 10 9 15 10 £ s. d. 0 11 6 0 14 6 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 18 6 0 16 6 9 10 9 8 8 8 8 9 9 Oz. £ s. d. January February March 9 15 10 9 15 10 9 15 10 9 15 10 9 15 10 10 5 10 16 6 0 3 0 0 3 0 9 9 9 Totals 115 19 3 111 19 3 5 8 6 8-75 183 704 11 0